Trip 2 - Day 4 - Masaki Port to Kurakawa Onsen

We had a very early start this morning after the lightest sleep on the thinnest futons in Japan. Up we got, packed our shit and said goodbye to the 'Walk-On' riders-house by 6:45am.

Leaving the 'Walk-On' Riders House.

Riding the 100 metres to the terminal, we were lined up and registered by the required 7am threshold to catch the first ferry to Kyushu.

Our ferry to Kyushu.

After waiting in line for half an hour, we finally rode on to the ferry and after the diligent crew had secured our bikes, we sat our fat arses down and let the ferry carry us between the two islands.

Waiting in line to board the ferry

It was a journey of little event - the sea was glassy and there was minimal other sea traffic to break the monotony. After an hours sailing we were rolling off onto a new island for new adventures. Likewise, the journey from the disembarkation port to the Aso area where we were to spend our afternoon riding, has little of interest to tell. Suffice to say that we had the usual navigation challenges getting past the traffic snarled city of Oita, but once we were out in the countryside everything went rather smoothly. Our route can be seen below, with us bypassing the urban areas and making a beeline for Aso.

Once in the Aso region things got interesting. We started by riding the 'milk road' - so-named (i believe) because these roads wind their way through the numerous dairy farms in the area. To be honest, the grassland, the smells and the uneven road surface reminded me of riding in NSW. Very unusual for Japan, and I didn't find much to inspire me.

Things hotted up, however, when we started climbing from the farms in the crater up the side of the caldera to the Aso skyway and beyond. Here not only was the riding spectacular, with many long turns and tight switchbacks in even measure, the scenery was just stunning. The walls of the caldera are made up of steep grasslands and broken mountain sides, all covered in a sheets of purple flowers. It looks altogether otherworldly.

Panoramic shot in the caldera showing some of the purple flowers

From our vantage up on the edge of the crater we could see the farmland far below, and see across the caldera to the hazy opposite side miles away.

Bikers up at one of the caldera summits

A mini cone near to the caldera edge.

After taking some snaps of the various mountains, Lucas and I headed to our bed for the night; a room in the Kurukawa Oku-no-yu, part of the Kurukawa Onsen village. Along the way we ran into a little adventure when the GPS route we had chosen to get us there included a small farmers road (which was fine) but then a goat track that somehow still counted as a road in google maps. Turning down the track on our road bikes, we plunged into the grassland and patches of forest following its rough, rutted and rocky line. Inevitably I hit a big rock in a rut, my front wheel kicked out and I dropped the bike. Fuuck! And in the middle of nowhere no less. Here's a video of the event..

There were a few tense moments while we tried to get the bike started again. I admit that I was a nervous mess, but in the end a little patience (Lucas' patience - not mine) saved the day and the bike righted itself.

We've arrived in paradise

Drama over, and crisis averted, we finally reached Kurokawa Onsen and the place is beautiful. Well worth the additional effort and the extra cursing, that it took to get here. Nestled in a valley along a swift flowing stream the buildings all draw from the same source of onsen water.

Kurukawa Oku-no-yu

Overlooking the gardens from our room in Kurakawa.

The place is immaculate and the rooms overlooking a beautiful garden with the sound of a fast running stream a constant background noise. With our shit unpacked and strewn all over the room to begin the process of de-stinkifying, we allowed the hotel staff to help us reserve a place for dinner.

Charcoal BBQ - dinner of champions. And of bike droppers.

We found a small restaurant serving a traditional charcoal bbq arrangement. The food was amazing and we sauntered slowly back to our lodgings through the village.

With dinner done it is now time to find a hot rotenboro (outdoor onsen). There are so many to choose from, we are having trouble working out where to start ;).

Postscript.
OK, so I'm back from the onsen and it was superb. The best ever in my limited onsen experience. Imagine an outdoor rock pool - right on the edge of, but sitting a little higher than, a river that is splashing and racing down its rocky bed. There's just the slightest breeze on the air. As the river splashes, the hot water lulls you into complete relaxation... Heaven.